The business behind the show

MGM lands new marketing chief

September 6, 2011 | 11:04
am

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has hired a new top marketing executive whose experience lies overseas, underscoring how important foreign markets are to the rebooted studio.

Doug Finberg, previously an international marketing executive at Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks SKG, has been named executive vice president of marketing at MGM, where he will oversee all publicity for the studio. He replaces Michael Vollman, who recently left the company after finding himself with a paucity of movies to sell.

Under new chief executives Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, MGM does not yet have domestic distribution rights to any movies that it is co-financing. However the studio does have a mixture of foreign theatrical rights in certain countries and foreign television rights to several films, including next year's James Bond and "The Hobbit" pictures and this December's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."